Global Courant
The former Nissan chairman who was arrested in Japan in late 2018 has filed a $1 billion lawsuit in Lebanon, where he is incarcerated.
Carlos Ghosn has said he will fight “to the end” in a $1 billion lawsuit the former Nissan chairman has brought against the Japanese automaker, his first such challenge.
Ghosn’s lawsuit, which he filed in Lebanon and a copy of which Reuters has seen, includes allegations of slander, slander, libel and fabrication of material evidence by Nissan, as well as 12 individuals and two other companies.
A Nissan spokesperson said it would not comment.
“We have a long battle ahead of us. We are going to fight it to the end,” Ghosn told Reuters on Tuesday in Lebanon, where he has lived since fleeing Japan, hidden in a box aboard a private jet.
Ghosn’s lawsuit is seeking $588 million in lost damages and another $500 million in moral damages.
“What I am asking is only a small compensation compared to what they have done to me,” the 69-year-old, wearing a blue open-neck shirt, said during an interview in Beirut.
Ghosn, once a titan of the global auto industry, was arrested in Japan in late 2018 and charged with underreporting earnings, breach of trust and misappropriation of company funds.
He denied the allegations and said his detention was part of a plot against him by Nissan.
Ghosn fled Japan in December 2019 awaiting trial and after arriving at his childhood home in Lebanon, he said he was escaping a “falsified” justice system and would clear his name.
Prosecutors in Tokyo have previously said Ghosn’s allegations of a conspiracy were false.
‘Must pay’
Asked if he would like to extend his legal action to Renault, part of the alliance with Nissan that he masterminded, Ghosn said his focus is currently on Nissan.
“I don’t rule out anything for the future. Today we are focusing on the Nissan lot,” he said.
If Nissan is found guilty, “he will have to pay,” Ghosn said.
“It’s a big company and they have assets all over the place and you can go after their assets anywhere, so this is no joke,” he said. “I hope they will provide this amount and I hope they will talk to their shareholders about what is happening and why this is happening,” he said.
Ghosn, who holds French, Lebanese and Brazilian nationality, said he has not left Lebanon since 2019 due to an Interpol Red Notice from Japan.
“I’m stuck here. I can’t make a complaint of this magnitude in another country,” he said, adding that putting his case together had taken his legal team time to reconstruct the facts.
A judicial source in Lebanon said the prosecutor has scheduled a court hearing on September 18 to begin the proceedings.
Ghosn said documents were taken from his home in Lebanon under false pretenses and shared with Japanese authorities on the day of his arrest in Japan.
His lawsuit alleges that “the sanctity of a home” was violated and says crimes were committed in Lebanon, Japan, France, Brazil, the United States and the Netherlands.
“I intend to get my rights back, to restore my reputation,” he said. “I’m going to spend all the time it takes for the truth to prevail.”
